This invention relates to a pool cover for covering a swimming pool.
It is highly desirable to cover swimming pools when their not in use so as to reduce evaporation and heat loss which can significantly increase the cost of maintaining the pool. Many covers are in the form of a simple sheet of plastics material with the sheet being placed over the water surface either in contact with the water surface or above the water surface at the top surface of the pool. Many covers are formed with bubbles so that the cover is buoyant on the surface of the water and can thus lie on the surface of the water. Covers of this type also have the advantage that they can absorb heat from sunlight and communicate this into the water so as to reduce heat loss and at the same to increase heat gain.
Sheet type covers of this type are highly suitable for relatively small pools such as residential pools but become extremely difficult to manage and maneuver when used on larger pools of the commercial type or pools of a complex shape. Many such pools remain uncovered for these reasons. It has previously been proposed to cover a pool with a plurality of hexagonal elements which are separate and buoyant so as to simply float on the pool surface, sometimes known as lily-pads. The elements are suitably shaped so that they line up edge to edge and thus cover the majority of the pool surface. The hexagonal shape is preferred but it will be appreciated that other shapes are possible. The elements or pads thus float on the surface and tend to organize themselves into the required pattern to cover the majority of the surface. In one example, a device of this type was manufactured from foamed plastics materials which tends to be relatively brittle and hence prone to damage. In another example shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,232 (Ballew) a hexagonal rigid frame is covered with a material which allows penetration of sunlight through the upper surface and provides insulation due to an air space between the upper surface and a lower surface.
However the major disadvantage with rigid elements of this type is that they are extremely cumbersome and bulky when removed from the pool. A fabric cover can be rolled, the rigid elements can of course be stacked but even when stacked take up relatively large area. For this reason the use of rigid panels, or "lily pads" has been essentially disregarded in the industry.